British-based label Lovestruck were inundated with demand for the £37 'Deirdre' dress that the pregnant Duchess
picked up when she shopped at their concession in Topshop's Oxford Street
store last week. By 2pm their website,
lovestruckclothing.com
, had crashed thanks to over 60,000 hits from both the UK and abroad, and at one point they were selling one of the dresses every minute until it sold out. They are now accepting pre-orders on the style, which has become their spring/summer 2013 season bestseller.

The majority of demand has been from the US, says head designer Erika Shaw, who has also revealed that they plan to re-release the dress in a variety of different colourways as early as next week.

"It's staggering how much frenzy surrounds Kate's fashion choices globally, she's the most important British style ambassador of our generation," says Shaw. "We designed the dress with the ethos to both flatter the shape but not lose any fashion credentials in the process; it features Lovestruck's trademark floral patterns and muted tones."

The Duchess has previously had a similar effect on other high street stores such as Zara, when items she has worn have sold out soon after she's been pictured in them. However, some brands have commented that the 'Duchess effect' has been
somewhat exaggerated
as she often wears high street pieces from past season which are no longer produced - such as the Whistles blouse she wore in her official engagement portraits. Nevertheless, it seems this purchase has well and truly cemented the impact the mother-to-be's fashion choices really do have across the globe, even when she's dressing to cater her pregnant form.